How people participate during a teleconference is just as important as whether they participate. Remote participants often feel a bit removed from a meeting, and it may be easy to either get distracted or to try multi-tasking, thus reducing the likelihood of participating. Local participants, including the moderator, may forget about remote peers and leave them out of discussions. Here are a few rules of etiquette for all types of participants, whether you're presenting or not.

1. Be timely.
   Be on time, else indicate to the moderator beforehand that you may be late. Some confererencing systems have a cutoff point after which an in-session conference cannot be joined.
   
   
2. Reduce distractions.
   If your cell phone goes off, even if you are remote, it will distract other participants. Turn off cell phones and pagers. Also turn off call waiting. Try not to use a cell phone for joining the meeting as static and ambient noise will be distracting.
   
   
3. Shut down apps.
   If you are using your computer as your conferencing entry point instead of a phone or other device, shut down any applications that you are not using during the meeting. Shutting applications frees up RAM memory, which may give you better call quality. This reduces the chances of static or audio dropout, which of course will be distracting.
   
   
4. Introduce yourself.
   People do not always sound the same on the phone as they do in person. Introducing yourself is not only a part of etiquette but insures that the person taking minutes knows who said what.
   
   
5. Observe order.
   Do not speak while someone else is talking. This includes whispering in the background. Most speakerphones are particularly bad when people speak simultaneously, which usually results in audio clipping or dropout. Since speakers will have to repeat themselves, double talk just slows the meeting down.
   
   
6. Stay focused.
   If you are presenting during the meeting, stick to the pre-approved agenda and your time allotment. If someone asks a question for which the answer only concerns them, ask them politely to send you an email with that question, for later discussion. If the answer concerns everyone but questions are to be left until the end of the meeting, check with the moderator before answering.
   
   
7. Be silent.
   Mute your equipment when not speaking. That way, if you absolutely need to multi-task, you can do so quietly. If you need to step out, notify the moderator, if possible, especially if you are scheduled to speak, and mute your microphone. Do not put the call on hold, else others may hear your hold music.
   
   
8. Be relevant.
   Few people want to be in a meeting longer than necessary. Leave irrelevant discussions for later. Also, leave discussions that only concern yourself and one or two others until later.
   
   
9. Ask questions.
   Towards the end of the meeting, the moderator should ensure that each participant has a chance to ask any pertinent questions. If the group size is small, ask each person by name. If it's large, start by directly asking those with actionable tasks. Then ask if any remaining parties have questions.